<p>Right now, D is a senior (2080 SAT's, 30 ACT, 103 GPA, 1/153 rank) who thinks she may be interested in Public Policy or Communications or Foregin Language (but she's far from set in her course). She's applied to several schools (Naz, Scranton, HWS, Ithaca, Syracuse, Geneseo), and right now, Hobart and William Smith is her first choice. She fell in love with the campus the second she saw it, loves the atmosphere, the courses, she's met students and professors... However, we've gotten the impression from others that HWS isn't a "great" school, or at least that others are better- which we know is true. Syracuse, which has several very highly ranked programs that she's interested in is generally viewed as a "better" school. We visited yesterday- and she hated it. She thought it was too big, and hated the idea of TA's and large classes. Fin aid is obviously a concern, but just for kicks, say it wasn't. What is more important? Is she better off going to a lower quality school she loves, or should we tell her that she needs to go to the better school and risk her being unhappy for four years?</p>
<p>There is still time to look for more schools. Why not try to find some other schools similar to Hobart and William Smith that have, in your opinion, greater prestige? Sounds like she wants a small school. Why not apply to Dartmouth? Look for schools which have excellent study abroad in the foreign language of personal interest. Forget about Syracuse. If your D doesn’t like Syracuse, then find other schools. Also, visit HWS in the heart of the winter–may or may not like the cold snow.</p>
<p>Where do the graduates get jobs? I wouldn’t go by reputation. If your D like H & W let her go for it. But, make her spend a day going to classes in her major at each before she decides. I would also have her contact the dept heads and start that email communcation. She might find she really like the guys at the bigger schools.</p>
<p>BTW, has she looked at Tufts?</p>
<p>I considered Syracuse because it had the major I wanted (enviromental engineering) and just about every other major if I changed my mind. But during my visit I found it much too large for my comfort zone. mdcissp had good advise.</p>
<p>HWS is one of my son’s top choices. He is going for a revisit and interview next week. He is also applying to Ithaca. </p>
<p>Both my husband and I have Masters from Maxwell and it is the #1 grad school in the country for Public Admin and Newhouse is equally as respected. </p>
<p>My son had no desire to even apply to SU. Too big.</p>
<p>What about Middlebury?</p>
<p>I am an Ithaca College student if you have any questions. Ithaca is great for Communications. I am a Television-Radio major and in love with the program. If your daughter is serious about it then Park would be the way to go. I know people who are Politics majors with interest in Public Policy and combined it with Communications. I can’t add much on FL since I don’t know any majors or have had classes in it.</p>
<p>The thing about Syracuse was the fact that for Communications you don’t take a class in your major until junior year. I am in two TV-R classes now and I work on two TV shows. A lot of my fellow majors applied to SU and chose not to apply there for that specific reason.</p>
<p>To the OP–just re-read your last sentence. As long as the money works out, let your daughter make the decision.</p>
<p>Look at some first tire LACs. You can have the small size without sacrificing the quality of education. ( fin aid is a different matter, she is more likely to get merit aid at lower ranked schools)</p>
<p>mdemvizi: not sure where you got that info re: Newhouse…major Newhouse courses start freshman year fall with COM 107; my daughter is a junior and only has one course left for her major left for senior year…</p>
<p>to the OP: profile you post reminds me of Colgate if your daughter loves HWS…</p>
<p>I personally do not believe in lower quality vs higher quality. I believe that it is much more up to a student what they get out of their UG. This belief led me to trust my kid’s level of comfort at potential UG more than any kind of rankings. This strategy worked perfectly for my D. (college senior). She loved the campus and atmosphere of her state UG after first visit. Graduating in May of 2011, has been accepted to several Medical schools, straignt As in UG so far. She could have gone to Ivy, she was #1 in her HS class, ACT=33. Looking back, she probably would have not had as many opportunities at elite college as she had at her state school who highly appreciates top caliber students. From our prospective, we did not pay tuition because of Merit Scholarships and she got many more opportunities and has learned much more than expected and planned, got involved, developed further her leadership skills, traveled abroad, had the best job on campus, awesome Medical lab. research internship and many more… Always talks about her classes with excitement, was challenged much more then she invisioned.<br>
Conclusion: state school was a very good choice for my D. who had similar stats as OP’s D.</p>
<p>My son had Syracuse on his original list, but dropped it as too big and too sports oriented when he got into an EA school he liked better. While I don’t think there’s anything wrong with HWS there are other small and medium size schools that fit in with her interests that are a little reachier. I think a good fit is more important than prestige, but I think you’ve set up a straw man here.</p>
<p>Syracuse and Hobart/WS are really completely different approaches to college education. About the only thing they have in common is that they aren’t that far from one another, at least compared to how far either of them is from almost everything else, but even there Hobart is in the middle of gorgeous Finger Lakes wine country and Syracuse is in the middle of a mid-size city.</p>
<p>I don’t know that it’s clear at all that Syracuse is fundamentally “better” than Hobart. It’s better known, that’s for sure, and it has lots more graduates running around, but both of those things are functions of its size (and its semi-professional sports programs). The Newhouse School offers a respected pre-professional journalism program. But if a kid wants the intimacy and engagement of a small LAC, she’s got a better chance at ultimate success going to a small LAC than trying to shove her peg into a wrong-shaped hole elsewhere based on name-recognition.</p>
<p>Hobart and Ithaca are a more logical choice pairing – small vs. very large LAC, natural beauty in the middle of nowhere vs. vibrant college town (in the middle of nowhere), liberal arts centric program vs. deliberate blending of liberal arts and career-specific programs, mostly old vs. modern and spiffy.</p>